Communication networks facilitate point-to-point telephony between network endpoints. However, even in an age of widely available communication capability, including wireless communication networks, a phone call may not be answered. For example, the target device may be disconnected from a communication network, either because the device is out of range of the communication network, or because the device is turned off, and thus the target device does not signal the incoming call to a user. In addition, a user may choose not to answer an incoming call. In such cases, many communication networks provide the initiator of the call an opportunity to leave a recorded voice message, often referred to as voice mail, for the user of the target device.
The content of a voice mail message is typically not summarized or otherwise available except by listening to the message in real time. In addition, voice messages typically cannot be “skimmed” for content similar to a written document, and at least a portion of the recorded message must be listened to. Voice mail messages are also famously subject to being poorly organized, rambling, and overlong. Moreover, recorded voice messages are typically presented to a user aurally in order of receipt (for example, first-in-first-out, or first-in-last-out). Thus, the process of sorting through voice mail by a user is a laborious and, for many, an unanticipated task.
Overview
In systems and methods of prioritizing a voice mail message, a voice mail node in a wireless communication system receives a voice mail message based on a phone call from a caller to a recipient. The first voice mail message comprises caller information and chronological information. The caller information is matched to a contact entry of the recipient to generate a matching criteria. The caller information is located in a call history of the recipient to generate a call history criteria. The chronological information is compared to a first time period to generate a chronological criteria. A frequency metric is generated based on the call history of the recipient and a second time period. A first voice mail priority is associated with the first voice mail message based on at least one of the matching criteria, the call history criteria, the chronological criteria, and the frequency metric, and a voice mail list voice mail list comprising the first voice mail message is ordered according to the first voice mail priority.